Male Team 20 - 24 Feb
Vuelta a Andalucía
684 Kilometers 5 Stages
With none of its big leaders because of Mikel Landa’s injury in Mallorca, yet hopeful and ready to fight for stage wins, the Movistar Team heads into the 65th Vuelta a Andalucía – Ruta del Sol, which will feature no less than four uphill finishes in its five-stage 2019 route scheme.
A brutal final ascent in Alcalá de los Gazules (last 1.4km at nearly 10%), over cobblestones, will open the race on Wednesday 20th. From pure ‘escaladores’ to punchy climbers and even sprinters, Thursday 21st’s stage two will end with a 3% slope in Torredonjimeno, after a grueling 216km.
The decisive stages will be a 16km ITT, again with an uphill finish, in La Guardia de Jaén (Friday 22nd), and a big mountain stage on Saturday 23rd, only 120km in length yet including the climbs of Purche (Cat-1) and Hazallanas (Cat-1) before descending to Granada. Another uphill finisher for sprinters in Alhaurín de la Torre will take the curtain down a day later.